Dissertations / Theses: 'English language – Usage'

1

Hantrakul, Chanpen Steffensen Margaret S. "English tense and aspect usage in controlled written discourse by non-native speakers." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1990. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9101113.

Full text

Abstract:

Thesis (D.A.)--Illinois State University, 1990.
Title from title page screen, viewed November 4, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Margaret S. Steffensen (chair), Irene T. Brosnahan, Ronald J. Fortune, Ronald S. Halinski, Bruce W. Hawkins. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-150) and abstract. Also available in print.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

2

Banning, Yvonne. "English language usage in South African Theatre since 1976." Thesis, University of Cape Town, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/23508.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

3

Frandsen, Jacob F. "Interpreting Standard Usage Empirically." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2014. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3986.

Full text

Abstract:

Writers, editors, and everyday language users look to dictionaries, style guides, usage guides, and other published works to help inform their language decisions. They want to know what is Standard English and what is not. Commentators have been prescribing and proscribing certain usages for centuries; however, their advice has traditionally been based on the subjective opinions of the authors. Recent works have analyzed usage by relying wholly or partly on statistical and descriptive data rather than traditional opinion alone; however, no work has presented statistical usage data in a user-friendly and consistent format. This study presents a statistically based methodology for analyzing the standardness of disputed English usage points that can be presented in a dictionary-like format useful to writers and editors. Using data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English, this study determined the percent of use of several disputed usage items. Percents of use were then applied to a statistically based "standardness" scale with several levels. The scale presented in this study is adapted from scales that have been used previously to study language change. In addition, returns from the Corpus of Historical American English were used to present historical trends, if any, for each usage item. It was found that traditional sentiments about certain prescribed and proscribed usage items differ markedly from actual observed usage. Corpus data make it clear that even usage guides that purport to rely at least partly on descriptive data are often wrong about the prevalence and acceptability of usage items. To produce truly objective and accurate analysis, usage advice must depend on corpus data and use a standard usage-trend scale that accounts for how language changes.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

4

Lau, Tak-lai Michael. "An analysis of ICT usage among the English teachers in a Hong Kong secondary school /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 2002. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B25148230.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

5

Harms, Aaron A. "First-year composition and writing center usage." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/4933.

Full text

Abstract:

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 27, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

6

Ng, Man-yi Emily, and 吳敏儀. "English in designs in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2001. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31953189.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

7

Park, Linda Seojung. "Language varieties and variation in English usage among native Korean speakers in Seoul." Thesis, University of Iowa, 2019. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/6830.

Full text

Abstract:

In the last few decades, a rise in Korean speakers’ borrowing from English has led to a rich pool of contemporary Anglo-Korean vocabulary, also known as English loanwords. Despite the English roots of these borrowed words, their usage in a Korean context is often non-uniform and non-traditional; this process of borrowing, reshaping, and dispersing borrowed vocabulary provides insights on the dynamics of Korean society and its relationship to global English-speaking communities. In order to investigate the variations on Korean speakers’ use of Anglo-Korean words and their potential correlations with various factors, I conducted interviews with 24 native Korean speakers in Seoul, Korea in the summer of 2018. Subjects were diverse in their age, gender, and occupation. I analyzed the r speakers with a preference of Sino-Korean words, speakers with a preference of Anglo-Korean words, and speakers with a speech mixed of Korean, Korean English, and American English. I identified two variables as the most significant causes of diversity of speech: 1) age and 2) exposure to English. I established that 80% of my subjects over the age of 60 fell into the Sino-Korean-dominant category, and the best indicator of a subject being a translingual speaker was an increased exposure to English. In order to expand on evidence from my interviews, I historically contextualize Korean language in society alongside current ideologies related to language in Korea. In so doing, I explore the relationship between these variables and the language varieties of individual speakers. I argue that because a speaker’s age and exposure to English shapes the language variety they use and the language ideology in Korea touches individual speakers in different ways, native speakers in today’s Korea use several language varieties. These findings challenge the notion of a linguistically and ethnically homogeneous Korea and shed light on the current status of Korean English and American English in Korea.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

8

Sjöberg, Helén. "English Teachers´Views on the Use of the Target Language in the Classroom." Thesis, Halmstad University, School of Teacher Education (LUT), 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-1388.

Full text

Abstract:

In our ever more international world, the English language plays an important role. This is

also reflected in its prominent position as a core subject in the Swedish school system. It is

therefore important that English teachers offer students an environment in which they have

the best possible opportunities to be successful in reaching the goals specified in the

syllabuses. One variable in a successful foreign language classroom is the teacher's usage

ofthe target language.

This study is about English teachers' views on the issue of target language usage in the

classroom, versus usage of the mother tongue. In this study, at Upper Secondary level, the

interviews show that the teachers are, more or less, in agreement that the target language

should be used all the time in the classroom. There are, however, occasions in which the

interviewed teachers do not work according to their own beliefs and methods and revert to

using Swedish. The main such occasions can briefly be said to be: explanation of grammar,

non-subject related "mentor's issues" and classroom management issues. In addition, this

study argues that the governing documents, previous research, as well as well-known

theories on the subject support a high usage of the target language by the teacher.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

9

McGarry, Theresa, and J. Mwinyelle. "Adverbial Clause Usage and Gender in English, Spanish, and French." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2016. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/6154.

Full text

Abstract:

This study examines adverbial clause usage by women and men in three contexts: (1) single-gender and mixed-gender meetings of a US social club, (2) single-gender and mixed gender dyads speaking Ecuadorean Spanish, and (3) French speakers in informal interviews. The English results generally support past findings that women tend to use adverbial clauses to weaken their expressed commitments to the propositions they express, while men tend to use more of the clauses that strengthen the expressed commitments. However, the situation affects the specific clause types used, and the English results are not replicated in the Spanish or French data.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

10

Jia, Ting Ting. "A comparative study of English-language newspaper headlines." Thesis, University of Macau, 2011. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2525502.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

11

Lawrence, Constance Diane. "English oral language usage of caregivers in selected orphanages of eastern India a phenomenological study /." Birmingham, Ala. : University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2008. https://www.mhsl.uab.edu/dt/2008p/lawrence.pdf.

Full text

Abstract:

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2008.
Additional advisors: Lois Christensen, Lynn Kirkland, Maryann Manning, Lou Anne Worthington. Description based on contents viewed Feb. 9, 2009; title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 106-113).

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

12

Takahashi, Reiko. "English as a lingua franca in a Japanese context : an analysis of ELF-oriented features in teaching materials and the attitudes of Japanese teachers and learners of English to ELF-oriented materials." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/5269.

Full text

Abstract:

As a result of the spread and growth of English as a global means of communication, a new approach to teaching and learning English has recently emerged: ELF – English as a lingua franca (ELF). Graddol (2006: 87) claims that "some of its [ELF] ideas are likely to influence mainstream teaching and assessment practices in the future". Indeed, a shift from traditional EFL goals to ELF has been observed in the documents of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan. Jenkins (2004) suggests that applied linguists and publishers will need to find ways of promoting a more ELF perspective in teaching materials. However, to begin with, the reason why the ELF approach is necessary for Japanese learners of English should be adequately discussed. Also, how people are likely to respond to the new materials in the future should be investigated. The aim of this thesis is two-fold: (1) to examine current English language teaching practices in Japan from an ELF perspective, and (2) to examine the attitudes of Japanese people towards the new ELF-oriented practice. More specifically, the current study will focus on the teaching materials that are currently being used within the country. The research consists of three parts: (1) the identification of the characteristics of ELF; (2) an analysis of the EFL coursebooks and audiovisual materials according to those traits; and (3) an investigation of the attitudes of Japanese learners and teachers of English to ELForiented coursebooks and audiovisual materials by means of questionnaires and focusgroups. EFL coursebooks and audio materials employed in the state and private sectors were analysed. ELF-orientation was found in different forms and to different degrees according to the level and the objectives of individual materials: this was apparent in the nationalities and contexts represented, in the content of texts, and in English varieties in audio materials. There were some differences between publishers in the degree of ELF orientation. 717 students and 28 teachers were involved in the questionnaire survey. Sixteen students and nine teachers participated in the focus-group discussions. The survey data revealed that the informants showed strong reactions to certain ELF features in materials. They had little objection to ELF-features which were related to contextual factors of ELF (e.g. representation of characters in a dialogue). In contrast, they expressed more opinions regarding ELF-features which were closely related to the issues of a target model (e.g. written forms of non-standard English, and audio recordings which included NNS English). The findings are discussed with regard to the implementation of ELF-oriented materials. Pedagogical implications are proposed for the further development of ELF-oriented materials and for possible changes in English language teaching in the Japanese educational system.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

13

Soya, Nongesiba. "Perceptions of school stakeholders towards the use of English as a language of learning and teaching (LoLT) in grade 9 Social Sciences." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/6447.

Full text

Abstract:

The dawn of democracy in South Africa led to the development of Language in Education Policy (LiEP) as one of the pieces of legislations that promote languages in schools where parents, learners, who have come of age may choose a language for instruction. LiEP, together with the Constitution of South Africa, promote equal value of all eleven official languages spoken in this country. The promotion of language policies clearly shows that language is the bedrock of the academic development of every child. Unfortunately, Spaull, Van der Berg, Wills, Gustafsson and Kotzè (2016) found that South African Foundation Phase learners lack the most basic skill needed for academic achievement, reading for meaning. Spaull et.al (2016) findings show that language problems start during the early years of schooling. This study aimed at finding out the perceptions of school stakeholders about the use of English as LoLT in Grade 9 Social Sciences, and it is located in the Interpretivist Paradigm. In this study, stakeholders are learners because they are central to learning, parents, as they have the responsibility of choosing LoLT for their children and assist them in their schooling career. Lastly, teachers are stakeholders because of their critical role of imparting knowledge and skills during classroom interaction. The researcher uses a Qualitative approach to identify data-collecting tools suitable for this research, and chooses semi-structured interviews and observations. Semi-structured interviews are flexible and allow deeper probing during the interview. The sample consists of nine Grade 9 learners, three teachers of Grade 9 Social Sciences and six parents from the School Governing Body (SGB). The aim of conducting observations was to find out the language used by learners and teachers during classroom interaction. This study found out that most participants prefer learning Social Sciences in English than in isiXhosa. They are aware of the challenges experienced in the classroom when learning in English but they still choose it. From the sample used, participants clearly indicate that learning in English causes some barriers in the learning and teaching process. However, it also became clear that the benefits associated with learning in English make it difficult to put it at the same level as other languages and participants do not link mother tongue to career opportunities. It is also evident that English will enjoy its hegemony until such time that all stakeholders in Education view the mother tongue as a foundation for learning other languages and as a resource as well so that they can use it in the classroom to understand the content. Policy developers must look deeply into the question of LoLT so that learners receive instruction in a language that will assist them in improved academic performance. Teachers must be equipped with adequate skills to assist learners in developing reading and comprehension skills in the classroom. There is a dire need to develop the culture of reading in rural school learners; and teachers must expose learners to a variety of English reading material.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

14

Taylor, Vi Linh. "Tense usage in academic writing a cross-disciplinary study /." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ58551.pdf.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

15

Makwela, Matlaleng Maria. "The role of usage examples in Northern Sotho-English / English-Northern Sotho bilingual dictionaries." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/2372.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

16

Wong, Wai-man Queenie, and 黃慧敏. "Modal expressions in English in the educational sector." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1999. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3195246X.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

17

Groot, Ingeborg. "The use of conjunctions in English as a second language (ESL) : students' oral narratives." Virtual Press, 2000. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1191106.

Full text

Abstract:

This dissertation analyzes the production and functions of the conjunctions and, but, so, and then as discourse markers in English as a Second Language (ESL) students' oral narratives. Two types of narratives are analyzed: a non-guided, or spontaneous narrative, and a picture-guided-narrative. Narratives of forty three ESL students are included in the analysis as well as narratives from six native speakers.This study indicates that l) the ESL students attach a narrowly defined meaning to and, but, so, and then, 2) the ESL students use and, but, so, and then to link previous sentences or ideas. or refer back to ideas, less than for any other function, 3) the ESL students do not use a greater number of occurrences of and, but, so, and then in the picture-guided-narrative than in the non-guided-narrative, and 4) the ESL students misuse conjunctions in similar ways regardless of their native language (LI ); that is, although the influence from a student's Ll may result in specific problems of transfer, some patterns of conjunction errors are unrelated to the Ll and may be indicative of a more general problem.
Department of English

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

18

Fronk, Amanda Kae. "Determining Dictionary and Usage Guide Agreement with Real-World Usage: A Diachronic Corpus Study of American English." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2014. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4093.

Full text

Abstract:

Dictionaries and, to a lesser extent, usage guides provide writers, editors, and users of American English information on how to use the language appropriately. Dictionaries, in particular, hold authority over correct usage of words. However, historically, usage guides and dictionaries were created using the knowledge of a small group of people. Lexicographers like Noah Webster set out to prescribe a proper way of using American English. To make these judgments, they often relied on a combination of study and idiosyncratic intuitions. A similar process took place in creating usage guides. Though these manuals profess to explain how the language is used by American English speakers-or rather by the selected group of speakers deemed "standard" by usage guide editors and lexicographers-ultimately the manuals can only express the perspectives of the editors and lexicographers on this language. Historically, the views of these editors and lexicographers were the best tools available to assess language, but now computer-based corpora allow for studying larger swaths of language usage. This study examines how much dictionaries and usage guides agree with real-world usage found in corpus data. Using the Corpus of Historical American English, a set of dictionaries and usage guides published throughout the last two hundred years were analyzed to see how much agreement they had with corpus data in noting the addition of denominal verbs (i.e., verbs formed by the conversion of nouns as in 'They taped together the box.') in American English usage. It was found that the majority of the time dictionaries noted new denominal verbs before corpus data reflected accepted usage of these verbs. However, about a quarter of the time dictionaries noted new denominal verbs concurrently with the corpus data. These results suggest that dictionaries-and the subjective opinions of the lexicographers that created them-are more aligned with real-world usage than would be expected. Because of sparse listings, results for usage guide agreement was inconclusive.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

19

Chan, Chin-ying Alice, and 陳展瑩. "A corpus-based analysis of tense usage in Cantonese-English bilingual children." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B4515093X.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

20

Elchert, Keith J. "A survey of Midwestern newspaper editors on current language use." CardinalScholar 1.0, 2009. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1468269.

Full text

Abstract:

This thesis makes use of an online survey to study the current state of language use among newspapers in the American Midwest. Specifically, it examines editors’ attitudes toward and adaptation to changed language over the course of the last fifteen years. Those years have seen a general relaxation of language-use standards in the allowance of profanity, as well as changes brought about by emerging electronic media including the Internet and text messaging. The survey results indicate editors are gradually reacting to these changes, as opposed to leading the charge for change themselves.
Department of Journalism

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

21

Lee, Eun-Hee. "English article usage in online graduate forums by non-native EFL teachers." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3274275.

Full text

Abstract:

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Language Education, 2007.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2859. Adviser: Martha Nyikos. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 9, 2008).

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

22

Miller, Sherri Lynn. "Percentage of phonological process usage in expressive language delayed children." PDXScholar, 1991. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4204.

Full text

Abstract:

Language delay and phonological delay have been shown to coexist. Because they so often co-occur, it is possible that they may interact, sharing a relationship during the child's development. A group of children who were "late talkers" as toddlers, achieved normal development in their syntactic ability by the preschool period. Because their language abilities are known to have increased rapidly, data on their phonological development could provide information on the relationship between phonological and syntactic development. The purpose of this study was to compare the percentage of phonological process usage of the eight most commonly used simplification processes in four-year-old expressive language delayed (ELD) children, children with a history of slow expressive language development (HX), and normally developing (ND) children. The questions this study sought to answer were: do ELD children exhibit a higher percentage of phonological process usage than ND children, and are HX children significantly different in their percentage of phonological process usage than ND and/or ELD children.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

23

Sroinam, Rapeeporn. "English reading comprehension of Thai undergraduates : L1/L2 usage, texts, strategies and problems." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2005. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/654.

Full text

Abstract:

English Ianguage has been taught as a foreign language in Thailand for more than a century and now occupies an important place at all levels of the Thai education system. This study investigates the influence that the Thai language has on intermediate level undergraduate sludents while they are engaged in individual unaided reading of a variety of English texts and determines what aspects of reading texts caused problems. It aims to compare how often and for what purposes students resort to Thai with texts about culturally familiar texts and culturally unfamiliar texts, as well with different genres and question types. The subjects are 20 second year teacher trainee students majoring in English al Udon Thani Rajabhat University. Student responses to the texts, retrospective interviews, and a questionnaire were used as quantitative and qualitative dota. For qantitative data, the SPSS program was used to analyse the frequency of using the first language, the relationship between scores, texts and question types, as well as that between strategies, scores, question types und problems. The use of content analysis witn qualitalive data from responses to tasks and the interviews produced the means whereby student strategies and problems could be categorised and findings in the qualitative data extended.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

24

Mntambo, Nomawabo. "A case study of oral linguistic error-treatment in second language classrooms where English is the medium of instruction." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003320.

Full text

Abstract:

One of the issues that have been debated at length in second language acquisition research circles is that of error-feedback and its desirability. Although there is as yet no conclusive evidence concerning its effectiveness in contributing towards the acquisition of a second language, a number of studies that have been conducted bear evidence to its desirability in L2 classrooms. This research then, was concerned with the way teachers of content subjects reacted to their learners' linguistically erroneous responses during oral interaction in their classes. The participants were four teachers who, with their pupils, are second language speakers of English . Three of these were content subject teachers while the fourth one teaches English. The data was collected from a class of Std 5 pupils in a rural school in the Eastern Cape where the lessons of these teachers were observed and audio-taped. Subsequently some of them were transcribed and analysed. The analysis of the data revealed that teachers in content subject classes, who teach through the medium of English showed more concern for content than for linguistic errors despite the fact that they are expected to extend the pupils' chances of second language acquisition.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

25

Horvath, Veronika. "Errors and judgments : a sociolinguistic study of freshman composition." Virtual Press, 1996. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1027109.

Full text

Abstract:

This study attempts to discover and describe patterns of variation in college students' overt attitudes toward a limited set of grammatical and lexical variables, the shibboleths of edited written American English usage. The basic instrument used in the study is a 115 item multiple choice questionnaire prepared by the researcher. Fifteen questions were designed to assess the respondents' social, economic, and demographic backgrounds, whereas the major part of the questionnaire elicited judgments about one hundred English sentences offering the choice between the attributes "good," "bad," and "I can't decide." This questionnaire was administered to 172 students in nine freshman composition classes during the spring semester of 1994 at Ball State University. The study sought to discover and describe systematic relationships between the answers to the first set of questions (extralinguistic data) and the second set of questions (linguistic data) by using various analytical methods and statistical techniques, such as correlation coefficients, chi-square tests, and multidimensional scaling.It was hypothesized that variation in subjects' overt judgments about linguistic variables would parallel the findings of numerous sociolinguistic studies about variation in linguistic production, and hence would pattern along the social and demographic characteristics of the subjects. However, although this study found considerable variation in the freshman students' judgments about the usage shibboleths, it did not find social or demographic correlates to the respondents' judgments.By investigating the nature of the variation in freshman composition students' notions about linguistic correctness, this study attempted to answer questions which have not been asked by traditional usage studies, sociolinguistics, or composition research. Moreover, this study has added support for linguists' claims that the traditional "mistakes" in usage handbooks have almost no empirical basis, even if they remain the favorites of most handbook authors and English teachers.
Department of English

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

26

Wat, Lok-Sze Josephine, and 屈樂思. "Cantonese-speaking students' handling of WH-questions in English." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2006. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3692264X.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

27

Fong, Kaela. "Talkin' Black: African American English Usage in Professional African American Athletes." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2019. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1352.

Full text

Abstract:

Sports play an important role in the culture of the United States as does language, so the choice to use non-Standard dialects in a nation that privileges the Standard and negatively judges dialectical differences, especially those spoken by mostly people of color, is not undertaken lightly. Because of this privileging of Standard American English, it is assumed that only professional African American athletes are allowed to keep their native dialect if it is African American English (AAE) and still be successful. However, this is complicated by the historical and present increased criticisms women face in both sport and language. To investigate this claim, a quantitative analysis of post-game interviews of five men and five women in the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association, respectively, was conducted. The athletes were analyzed to see if they used dental stopping and be-leveling, two features of AAE. Four additional features of AAE were also investigated on an exploratory basis. Inter-gender variance was found among both genders. Across genders, women used the features of AAE studied an average of 30.6 percent less than men, demonstrating a clear gender difference in the usage of AAE. The results of this study illustrate disparities in women and men’s language use that could be a consequence of the inherent and historical sexism women must face in the realms of both sport and language.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

28

Owen, Jonathon R. ""At the Coal-Face of Standardization": Uncovering the Role of Copy Editors in Standardizing the English Language." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2013. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3927.

Full text

Abstract:

Though much work has been done on the definition of Standard English and on the standardization process, little attention has been paid to the role of copy editors in that process. Editors comprise a class of craft professionals employed to remove errors from texts and make them more consistent, but when editors speak about editors at all, they generally rely on anecdotes rather than hard data about what editors do. Since formal written English is often used as a baseline for determining what is standard, and since corpora of published writing are increasingly used to research questions of usage, it is important to understand the role of copy editors in shaping the text that we see on the printed page. This study examines the usage and grammar changes made by student editorial interns in twenty-three academic journal articles. Volunteer professional editors were then solicited to edit the same articles, and their changes were compared against the interns' changes. The changes were counted and categorized to determine which usage rules can be considered most important to copy editors and thus most essential to distinguishing Standard Edited English from standard unedited writing. It was found that the most frequent changes were several grammatical items and a few lexical items, including the that/which rule, avoidance of towards, increased parallelism, and standardization of s-genitive forms. These changes confirm the idea that editors play a role in standardization, particularly codifying certain forms by reducing optional variation. From this data we can conclude that educated written usage and edited usage are not necessarily the same and should not be conflated. These findings also have implications for the use of corpus data in usage studies by showing that the final version of a printed work does not necessarily show the usage of edited writers but likely has a substantial contribution from copy editors.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

29

Matsumura, Tomomi. "The Use of Evidentials in Hearsay Contexts in Japanese and English." PDXScholar, 2017. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4153.

Full text

Abstract:

Evidentials are one of the language codes that convey the speaker's beliefs in terms of the degree of reliability of information and how the speaker obtained information (Chafe, 1986; Ishida, 2006; McCready and Ogata, 2007). Evidentials play an important role in communication since they also function to show the speaker's attitude toward the interlocutors by making a sentence softer (Trent 1998). In his theory of territory of information, Kamio (1990, 1997, 2002) proposed that pragmatic rules of evidentials are different in Japanese than in English. Ishida (2006) studied these differences and argued that learners of Japanese (JF learners) face difficulties when conveying information with evidentials in Japanese. This study aimed to see how learners of Japanese as a foreign language (hereafter JF learners) use evidentials differently from Japanese native speakers by replicating Ishida's (2006) study. Discourse data, consisting of utterances produced by Japanese L1 speakers (J-speakers) in Japanese and JF learners in Japanese and English, was produced based on twelve situations where participants were instructed to convey hearsay information verbally to the specific third party. Collected productions were compared to see differences in the frequencies of evidentials, in general, and in terms of the source of information, the timing of conveyance, and the addressees. The study showed that JF learners use evidentials less frequently both in Japanese and English than J-speakers. This less frequent use of evidentials by JF learners in both languages indicates a transfer effect from English to Japanese. Additionally, a close look at each evidential use revealed other factors that might impact the speaker's choice of evidentials. This study revealed that JF learners tend to prefer to use evidentials such as soo da and to itta, while they tend to avoid using lexical evidentials such as rashii, mitai da, and yoo da which require more practice. These findings have implications for future research and for a classroom pedagogical approaches to the use of evidentials.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

30

Snyder, Delys Ann Waite. "A Corpus-based Approach to Determining Standard American English." Diss., CLICK HERE for online access, 2007. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd2239.pdf.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

31

Bhattrai, Anju. "A contrastive analysis of the English and Nepali past tenses and an error analysis of Nepali learners' use of the English past tenses." Virtual Press, 1999. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1159139.

Full text

Abstract:

This dissertation has two main purposes: (a) to provide an analysis of the past tenses in Nepali and compare them with those of English from a discourse pragmatic perspective; and (b) to investigate how Nepali learners of English use the English past tenses in terms of forms, meanings, and functions.A major claim of the dissertation is that tenses and aspects play various discourse functions in Nepali. Although Nepali has various past tenses as in English, their actual use is different from those of English. A significant difference between the use of the past tenses in English and Nepali is revealed in the use of the past perfect tense. In Nepali, unlike in English, the past perfect does not always require the existence of the past reference point between the event time and the speech time. Although used in similar as well as different contexts, the past perfect in both languages is found to express background information. In the analysis of the Nepali past tenses, one of the major arguments is that the traditionally termed `unknown past' does not have `past' as part of its basic meaning. The main function of this verb form is to express the speaker's unawareness of a situation at the time of its happening, whether in the past or the future.After the discussion of the Nepali past tenses in comparison with the English past tenses and aspects, an error analysis of Nepali EFL learners' use of the English past tenses in written essays is carried out. It was hypothesized that Nepali learners would make a wide variety of errors in the use of the English past tenses. Because of differences in the use of the past perfect and the past tense in the habitual sense between Nepali and English, it was expected that Nepali ESL learners would make errors in those areas. However, overgeneralization due to difference in the use was found only in a very few cases. Most of these errors cannot be traced to Nepali influence. One area, however, where Nepali has a clear effect on the students' use of English is in indirect speech. I argue that Nepali speakers do not change tenses in English indirect speech appropriately because verb tenses in Nepali are not changed from direct speech to indirect speech as in English.It is hoped that this dissertation will enhance the understanding of grammatical categories such as tense and aspect in general and of Nepali tense and aspect systems in particular. In general, this dissertation showed contribute to several areas of study in discourse analysis, second language acquisition, language transfer and contrastive analysis. A major significance of this dissertation is its demonstration of the role of tense and aspect in Nepali in the expression of various discourse functions.
Department of English

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

32

Mann, Richard Philip. "A statistical survey of transitional device usage among writers of English as a second language and native writers of English /." The Ohio State University, 1986. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu148726601122525.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

33

劉德禮 and Tak-lai Michael Lau. "An analysis of ICT usage among the English teachers in a Hong Kong secondary school." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2002. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3125634X.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

34

Chan, Haw-fung Victor, and 陳可風. "Hong Kong English and the internet." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1999. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31951806.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

35

Drifalk, Rickard. "Teaching and learning English in a Swedish school : A case study of television media usage." Thesis, Växjö University, School of Humanities, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:vxu:diva-5246.

Full text

Abstract:

The purpose of this essay was to investigate how films and TV-series were used in a Swedish lower secondary school, but also the pupils’ and teachers’ attitudes towards using television media. A questionnaire was handed out to 49 pupils asking them, for example, if they thought they learned grammar from watching films. In addition two teachers were interviewed and asked questions about what they thought about using television media in their teaching and how often they used it in their teaching. The results showed that both teachers and pupils were positive towards television media. The pupils thought they learned grammar, pronunciation, improved their listening comprehension and learned new vocabulary. They also stated that a lesson based on television media was more fun than a usual lesson and something they would like to see more of . However, the pupils were doubtful whether they learned more during such a lesson than a lesson based on the textbook. Copyright problems were an issue for the two teacher and they also stated that it requires more time to plan a meaningful activity involving television media compared to the traditional teaching. However, they felt that when they took the time to plan such an activity, it was worth it and the pupils reacted in a positive way.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

36

DEMETRAS, MARTHA JO-ANN. "WORKING PARENTS' CONVERSATIONAL RESPONSES TO THEIR TWO-YEAR-OLD SONS (LINGUISTIC INPUT, LANGUAGE ACQUISITION)." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/183947.

Full text

Abstract:

Despite claims by some theorists to the contrary, investigators have shown that information about grammatical errors is available to young children learning language via the conversational responses of their parents. The present study described five categories of responses in the conversations of working mothers and fathers to their normally developing two-year-old sons, and investigated whether any of these responses were differentially related to well-formed vs. ill-formed child utterances. Subjects were six middle-class, monolingual (English) parent-child dyads. Parents worked full-time jobs and the children were enrolled in full-time daycare. Within a two week period, four 20-minute conversational samples were audio and video recorded for each dyad in the subjects' homes during freeplay activities of the subjects' choice. Results indicated that the pattern of responses for these six parents was very similar to that reported for other parent-child dyads. The most frequent type of response for all parents was one that continued the conversation without either repeating or clarifying the child's previous utterance. The least frequent type of response was one that explicitly corrected portions of the child's utterance. Of all responses, repetitions--both clarifying and nonclarifying--appeared to be the type of response most differentially related to well-formed and ill-formed child utterances. Exact repetitions were more likely to follow well-formed utterances, while the remaining repetitions were more likely to follow ill-formed utterances. This pattern of differential responses was similar for all six dyads. Very few differences regarding the style or pattern of interaction were noted for fathers and mothers. Implications were drawn regarding the nature of linguistic input that is available to two-year-old children learning language.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

37

Beasley, Colin J. "Picking up the principles: An applied linguistic analysis of the legal problem genre." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1994. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1104.

Full text

Abstract:

Legal study requires not only the learning of new content, but also the learning of a new academic discourse with its own lexico-semantic, syntactic, and discoursal features. This thesis explores the answering of legal problem questions as an important and distinct new genre that undergraduates studying law units need to achieve competence in. In order to delineate the general features of this genre, systemic functional linguistic (SFL) analyses were performed on a series of texts (a tutorial question, an assignment question, and an examination question) written by lecturers in the introductory Commerce course Principles of Commercial Law as exemplars of the answering of legal problem questions. SFL analyses were also conducted on a series of student texts (both native and non-native English speaking students' answers to the examination question) which showed that considerable difficulties exist not only with the content, but also with the linguistic demands of writing in this particular genre. It follows that students may require specific training in "picking up the principles". The pedagogical implications for both content and language staff teaching in this area are explored with particular reference to tertiary ESL/EFL students.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

38

Diaz, Leanna Marie. "Usage of Emotes and Emoticons in a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game." University of Toledo / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1533228651012048.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

39

Walters, P. S. "English in Africa 2000 : towards a new millennium : inaugural lecture delivered at Rhodes University." Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020747.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

40

Weitzel, Larry. "Assessing business writing: An examination of scoring methods, writing sample complexity, and rating variability." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2000. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1750.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

41

Archer, Erika. "Attitudes and practices regarding the generic masculine pronouns in Hong Kong." Thesis, Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1997. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B19739850.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

42

Coetzee, Wena. "Language errors in the use of English by two different dialect groups of Afrikaans first language-speakers employed by Nedbank : an analysis and possible remedy." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/2063.

Full text

Abstract:

Thesis (MPhil (General Linguistics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The financial sector of South Africa is increasingly under pressure to ensure that the language used in all communication is aligned with international best practice and, furthermore, that the correct business terminology is applied. Standards of language proficiency and usage have, however, deteriorated over the past few years. This appears to be due mainly to lack of good language education at school level. In Nedbank, specifically, the language used by employees in written external communication is not always on par as is evident from the documentation that Nedbank Editorial and Language Services (Nels), the “language custodian” of the bank, has to edit and translate. Nels decided six years ago that, instead of rewriting all these documents, which is not timeor cost-efficient, to rather give business-writing training across the bank to enable Nedbank employees to increase their general writing proficiency of English. This study aims to establish whether there are discrepancies in the type of error made in English as used by Coloured Afrikaans mother tongue speakers and White Afrikaans mother tongue speakers in order to determine how to customise the business-writing training materials to the benefit of each cultural grouping in Nedbank.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die finansiële sektor in Suid-Afrika is toenemend onder druk om te verseker dat die taal wat in alle kommunikasie gebruik word in ooreenstemming is met internasionale “beste praktyk”, en verder dat die korrekte besigheidsterminologie gebruik word. Taalvaardigheids- en taalgebruiksvlakke het egter oor die afgelope aantal jare verswak, waarskynlik a.g.v. onvoldoende taalonderrig op skool. In Nedbank is die taalgebruik van werknemers in geskrewe eksterne kommunikasie nie altyd van ’n aanvaarbare standaard nie, soos duidelik blyk uit die dokumentasie wat Nedbank Editorial and Language Services (Nels), die bank se “taalbewaarder”, moet redigeer en vertaal. Nels het ses jaar gelede besluit om besigheidskryfkursusse vir die hele groep aan te bied, eerder as om al die eksterne kommunikasie oor te skryf, wat nie tyd- en koste-effektief is nie. Sodoende kan werknemers hulle algemene skryfvaardighede in Engels verbeter. Hierdie studie probeer vasstel of daar moontlike verskille is in die soort foute wat in Engels deur gekleurde Afrikaans-moedertaalsprekers en wit Afrikaans-moedertaalsprekers gemaak word, in ‘n poging om doeltreffende opleidingsmateriaal te ontwikkel vir elke kulturele groepering in Nedbank.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

43

El, Abbar Magda. "A lesson study of Internet usage to enhance the development of English language teaching in a Libyan university." Thesis, University of East Anglia, 2016. https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/59467/.

Full text

Abstract:

The research discussed in this thesis is based upon a programme of study in a Libyan university, which focused on the use of the Internet in the classroom in order to enhance English language teaching and learning. In the last few decades, information and communication technology (ICT) has strongly influenced society as well as education as it has become a part of daily life, offering access to a world of knowledge. This thesis describes, through a single case study, how three teachers at the University of Benghazi collaborated in the use of a ‘Lesson Study’ approach, in order to engage a group of English as Foreign Language (EFL) students in an e-learning teaching programme. The Lesson Study approach is a technique in Action Research whereby teachers work collaboratively to improve their pedagogy by observing the teaching as well as the learning as they teach students. This study explores university rationales for using ICT, by means of a case study in which myself, teachers and school managers were engaged in a pilot project which implemented ICT in teaching. My interest in researching this topic started while working at the University of Benghazi as an EFL teacher, as described above. In this role, I had an interest in contributing to the improvement of teaching practices in Libya in general and the University of Benghazi in particular. I began to do this by improving my own pedagogical practices and by creating opportunities for developing practice within the department. The study was prompted by a set of concerns that emerged as a result of my own English language teaching practice at my university. I found that even though students were happy to learn English, they could not practise the language in authentic situations, because in Libya English is not generally spoken outside the classroom. I discuss a curriculum initiative devised to tackle these concerns, directed towards engaging students to learn in a technology-based, collaborative, cognitively demanding and intercultural way. The broad aim of the study was to investigate how Libyan students’ current English literacy practices might be enhanced by using the Internet and E-learning strategies and how the Internet may be used as a medium to further assist the students’ English learning development. Through an extensive and in- depth use of literature, drawing on journals, articles, books and previous research studies, this thesis also explores some of the possibilities of the Internet in developing differing styles of classroom pedagogy and the 7 implications of incorporating the Internet into existing programme design and curriculum. It also reports on the way in which Lesson Study was used as a professional development strategy in a new setting and to discuss its effectiveness in research. In terms of the methodology, interview data was combined with questionnaire data and analysed. Support was found for a preparative rationale, a pedagogical rationale and a motivational rationale among teachers and students. Some limitations in this study needed to be bridged in order to build a widely supported vision and policy plan on conducting this thesis. The significant findings from this study include the observation that the lesson studies process contributed to bringing about change in teacher pedagogy. The major issues highlighted by these findings include the need to make changes to teacher practice and the way that the Lesson Study programme, as an Action Research model, impacted directly and positively upon teacher pedagogy, with an observed increase in student motivation for learning. These findings therefore have implications for the teachers of Higher Education in Libya if they are going to make sustainable pedagogical changes that will positively impact on student learning and outcomes.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

44

Jach, Daniel [Verfasser], Holger [Gutachter] Diessel, and Volker [Gutachter] Gast. "Preposition placement in English as a second language : a usage-based approach / Daniel Jach ; Gutachter: Holger Diessel, Volker Gast." Jena : Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, 2019. http://d-nb.info/1205884734/34.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

45

Bader, Fadel Mohammed Na'im. "Analysis of error type, source, and gravity in the writing of Arabic ESL students in U.S.A. colleges." PDXScholar, 1988. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3753.

Full text

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to determine the type, possible source and gravity of errors found in the Test of Written English and Placement Tests compositions written by native speakers of Arabic at college level. The first part of the study is an error analysis designed to reveal the types of errors that are most frequently made by Arab students at college level. The sources of these errors are explained according to Richards' classification of errors as inter- and intralingual (1971). Seven types of errors are identified under interlingual category: articles, prepositions, the copula, embedded questions, pronoun retention, semantic and stylistic errors. Intralingual errors included errors in overgeneralization and ignorance of rule restriction.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

46

Wong, Wing-yin Winnie, and 黃穎賢. "The study of the use of written English in the Hong Kong civilservice." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1997. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31951569.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

47

Ng, Wing-han Christina. "Does error correction lead to error reduction?" Thesis, Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 2002. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B26173347.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

48

Pillai, Saloshni. "Teachers' and learners' experiences and perceptions concerning the use of English as a language of learning and teaching in bi/multilingual mathematical literarcy classrooms." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021022.

Full text

Abstract:

In South Africa, there is concern about the poor achievement by first additional language (FAL) English learners in mathematics, and this is a consequence not solely of the apartheid era but more appropriately, the existing current situation in the classroom. Since 2006, the Department of Basic Education in South Africa introduced mathematical literacy (ML) as another learning area for the Further Education and Training (FET) band. ML, as an alternative choice to mathematics, is envisaged as a key to the understanding of our everyday world filled with numbers. Mathematical literacy FAL English learners and teachers are exposed to a ML curriculum that demands high linguistic skills in English in order to engage with the mathematical concepts through the medium of English which is not their home language. While the Language-in-Education Policy (DoE, 1997) recommends that school language policies promote additive bilingualism and the use of learners’ home languages as languages of learning and teaching (LoLT), there has been little implementation of these recommendations by schools, for the reason that all assessments and learner and teacher support materials (LTSM) are only available in English. Thus it appears that ML creates a language gap when FAL English learners and teachers have to possess a high level of communication and language proficiency of the LoLT English to successfully engage with the mathematical context and content of the ML curriculum since the language itself carries all the meaning. The majority of FAL English learners and teachers struggle with the necessary English language proficiency to successfully interact with the ML curriculum and are often required to use their own home language (code switching) to bring about understanding. In this study, I explore how teachers and learners who are dominantly FAL English speakers, engage in teaching and learning of ML in bi/multilingual classrooms. The main aim of the study is to investigate the FAL English learners’ and teachers’ experiences and perceptions concerning the use of English as the LoLT in bi/multilingual ML classrooms. Qualitative measures were generated through personal interviews (teachers [n=15] and learners [n=25]) from five different secondary schools situated in the rural areas of the Midlands in KwaZulu-Natal. This study is framed by Wenger’s (1991) model of situated learning and Vygotsky’s socio-cultural perspectives, which propose that learning involves a process of engagement in a community of practice and reflects the learners’ sociocultural relationship to school mathematics respectively. The study also describes Cummins’ quadrants and explores the benefits of Cummins’ notion of language use (Cummins, 1984). Analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed that, despite both teachers’ and learners’ difficulty with the language, English is the more popular language to be used in teaching and learning in bi/multilingual mathematical literacy classrooms since English is accepted as a global language. Worldwide emphasis and dominance of English as a powerful language that gives access to goods and social mobility were also highlighted. However, overall results in this study showed that most participants did express their preference for using their home language isiZulu alongside English through the extensive practice of code switching for the teaching and learning of ML.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

49

Mellborg, Magnus. "Chairman or chairperson? Or perhaps chair? : Swedish upper secondary school students’ knowledge of, and attitudes towards unbiased and ‘politically correct’ English usage." Thesis, Växjö University, School of Humanities, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:vxu:diva-1247.

Full text

Abstract:

The aim of this essay was to investigate the knowledge of, and attitudes towards unbiased English usage amongst Swedish upper secondary school students. For the purpose of this study, a survey was carried out at an upper secondary school in southern Sweden. In the theoretical background section, terms such as political correctness and gender-neutral language use are defined. In addition, references are made to studies in the United States and Europe on students’ awareness of these aspects of language.

For the present study, a survey was carried out in which 41 students answered 13 questions in written form. The students attend their third year at four different programmes at upper secondary school.

The results show that a majority of the students are very aware of the sensitivity of referring to persons of colour, and they are even afraid of being perceived as racists if they use terms such as black American. As regards non-sexist language use, the Swedish students were aware of the fact that terms such as firefighter and police officer can be used to designate both men and women. However, the students have little knowledge of the title Ms and of the neutral alternative to chairman, chair.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

50

Rangel-Studer, Beatriz. "Self-repair in second language interaction: Dyad groups in action." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2006. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2975.

Full text

Abstract:

Describes the results of a research project that analyzes the interaction of a second language (L2) learners of English (non-native speakers (NNS)) with a native speakers (NS). The subjects of the study were four NNS and two NS of English at Imperial Valley College in Imperial, California. The first aspect of the analysis determines the way in which self-repair might be related to L2 development and the L2 learner's language proficiency level. The second aspect of the analysis determines whether the NNS use self-repair differently when the interlocutor is a NS or a NNS of English. Results of the study indicate that while there was not a correlation between overall frequency of self-repair and language proficiency, there was a relationship between frequency of particular types of repair and language proficiency.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'English language – Usage'

Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles